Body Wisdom in Motion

A TRAUMA-INFORMED MOVEMENT CLASS TO

TRANSFORM STRESS, CREATE EASE, AND CULTIVATE PRESENCE

Copy of Copy of Copy of Body Wisdom (1).

Are you frustrated with a lack of relief through talk therapy?

Is chronic stress draining your energy and health?

Are you unable to rest or relax, even when you try?

Do you feel disconnected from your sense of creativity and joyfulness?

Body Wisdom in Motion is a 4-week, online workshop series for women's embodied trauma resolution. In this women’s-only workshop, you will learn to transform stress, create ease, and cultivate presence through embodiment practices designed to restore your nervous system to a balanced state.

This class is for you if:

You feel stuck with mental or physical health issues
You want a more capable, productive relationship with stress
You want tools to transform emotions like fear and anger
You want to deeply understand the connection between your emotions and health
You long to re-connect with a sense of vitality and pleasure in your body
You struggle with healthy boundaries in work or relationships
You want to become your own first resource for mental, emotional, and physical health

What is “trauma-informed?”

“Trauma” is commonly misunderstood as a something that happens to us, like a violent attack or natural disaster. But actually – trauma is something that happens deep within us, in the human nervous system.

There are many potential sources and manifestations of trauma, ranging from mundane to drastic. The common theme is that our body bears the burden of chronic stress and trauma.

In Body Wisdom in Motion, learn to heal trauma from the inside out by practicing techniques and therapies designed to restore your nervous system to a balanced state.

More peace in mind and body means more capacity to deal with life’s challenges as they arise, and more energy in your life for the people and things you love the most.

How class works:

Classes are held live on Zoom Video. Each class is recorded and sent to participants to watch at your convenience if you can’t attend live.

This comprehensive course includes:

4 content-based classes facilitated by Mattie Griffin and
3 movement classes facilitated by Katie Chal

Each week will cover a theme related to embodiment and nervous system health.

In content classes, you will learn self-administered tools, techniques, and real-world applications. In the following movement class, you’ll be led through playful, connected experiences to integrate and deeply explore that content from the prior class.

Content classes are Mondays 6:30 - 7:30 PM and Movement classes are Thursdays at 5 - 5:45 PM. Dates and times are as follows:

WEEK 1

6/7/21 – Content class with Mattie Griffin @ 6:30 PM

6/10/21 – Movement class with Katie Chal @ 5 PM

WEEK 2

6/14/21 – Content class with Mattie Griffin @ 6:30 PM

6/17/21– Movement class with Katie Chal @ 5 PM

WEEK 3

6/21/21 – Content class with Mattie Griffin @ 6:30 PM

6/24/21 – Movement class with Katie Chal @ 5 PM

WEEK 4

6/28/21 – Content class with Mattie Griffin @ 6:30 PM

No movement class this week

In addition to in-class time, you receive:

Access to the private Body Wisdom Community Facebook group – an online community for current and past students to share questions, resources, and celebration worthy “ah-ha!” moments.
Take-home resources for continued practice of class material, (audio-files, tutorial videos, reading materials, and more.)
Class recordings for your continued use

Weekly breakdown:

WEEK 1 – SAFETY & PRESENCE

Week One is all about understanding how chronic stress and trauma impact your health and physiology. In the first week, you will cultivate an embodied sense of safety in your entire system through a relaxed and open awareness of your internal and external environments. This week, you learn:

Nervous system 101
Trauma symptoms and the body
4 types of trauma
The fundamental technique for nervous system regulation and trauma healing
Related movement explorations

WEEK 2 – PLEASURE & PLAY

Often, in trauma therapy, people become singularly fixated on ‘the problem,’ or ‘the pain.’ Ironically, this attention towards “what’s wrong” can actually exacerbate a person’s symptoms! In Week Two, discover the healing potential of pleasure and play for your nervous system, relationships, and life. This week, you learn:

The effect of pleasure and play on your nervous system
Sensory exercises to activate and soothe your parasympathetic nervous system
Vocalization exercises to stimulate and release stuck trauma energy
Related movement explorations

WEEK 3 – ANGER & BOUNDARIES

Week Three is all about anger – an emotion forbidden to women throughout world cultures and time. Within the safe container of this class, experience the righteousness of anger. As you explore your own ferocious expression, you learn to re-negotiate and firm up boundaries with clarity and confidence. Week Three gives you a taste of your primitive, predatorial, and fiercely feminine power. This week, you learn:

Embodied boundary-defining practices
Nervous system regulation through vocalization
Movement strategies for sympathetic nervous system activation and release
Related movement explorations

WEEK 4 – BODY & MIND

In Week Four, discover the underlying emotional anatomy of your physical body. Through this profound body-mind integration process, learn to systematically translate the subtle energetics of posture, gestures, and stored tension. As you listen to, interpret, and honor the messages of your body, become more aligned with your true nature, which is joy. In this final class, you learn:

Psychosomatics of standing, walking, and movement
Psychosomatics of front and back body
How and why the trauma-'freeze' response engages
How to unlock stuck ‘freeze’ energy

Early bird pricing now available!

Meet your facilitators:

Mattie Griffin is Integrative Health Practitioner with a broad offering of holistic services.

She is a Holistic Trauma Counselor, Ayurvedic Nutrition and Wellness Practitioner, SomaVeda® Thai Yoga Therapist, and Licensed Massage Therapist. She has a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies with a special focus in women’s trauma. Currently, Mattie is enrolled in The SomaVeda College Doctoral program to become a Doctor of Sacred Natural Medicine.

Mattie specializes in holistic trauma remediation therapies, nervous-system regulation techniques, and holistic-education workshops. Her deepest passion is equipping, educating, and empowering women toward more health and wholeness in their relationships and lives.

*Photograph by Mauri Moskowitz

Katie Chal is a dancer and choreographer, who believes that dance is, above all, an expression of the soul.

She is currently a professional ballet dancer with DeLa Dance Company in Cincinnati. She has danced professionally with Nashville Ballet Company and received local recognition for her choreography and directorial work on her original piece, “Re-Grooving” at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

Katie has trained for the last 17 years in classical ballet and has extensive training in various styles of modern dance, movement improvisation, jazz, contact improv, Axis Syllabus, and Gaga.

She believes dance is a deeply healing art form and has become a guide and teacher of movement improvisation and dance play. In her classes, she hopes to enliven a sense of childlike wonder and surrender to the flow of the body. She feels truly honored to co-facilitate Body Wisdom in Motion.

*Photograph by Kyle Wolff

What Wise Women are saying...

A WAY OF LIFE

As a retired 40 year nurse and baby boomer, I was quickly captivated in 7 short classes by the practice of the body's nervous system being capable of reorientation from anxiety, stress, even trauma, to recovery through it's own movement and expression.

My faith in God, our Creator, has taken a leap as well for I have experienced the resiliency of the nervous system tapped into by the senses, leading to persistent recovery that is actually built into our bodies! My hope is to apply these valuable tools daily until they become a way of life. I highly recommend this class to every human being.

— Ann Gastright, Retired Nurse

EMPOWERING & CALMING

This class was empowering. It helped me listen to my body’s messages & was calming to my spirit. The movement class was fun & playful and a nice compliment to the Body Wisdom class. I highly recommend this class.

— Betsy Keenan

GROUNDED, RELAXED, & EMPOWERED

After the first class, I felt grounded and even. The deep pain hidden in the back of my hip was gone. My back body felt light and airy, my posture was relaxed, and mentally, I felt empowered and awake.

These classes remind me how to feel good even through these strange and stressful times!

— Chelsea Ostrow, Costume Designer

THE BEST GIFT TO MYSELF

Saying "Yes" to this class was one of the best gifts I've ever given myself.

If you're longing to understand more about the mind-body-spirit connection, listen to the messages your body is sending you, and learn amazing techniques to release trauma from the body, I highly highly recommend you sign up for this class!

Mattie Griffin is a phenomenal, compassionate, and knowledgable teacher.

— Allison Lee Gay, Licensed Massage Therapist

EMBRACE YOUR TRUE SELF

One of the best things about being in this class with others is witnessing their transformations.

Mattie creates a safe and supportive space where participants lose their masks and embrace their true selves—remembering who they were BEFORE their trauma.

— Julie Wheeler, Author

NECTAR FOR THE SOUL

This class was like nectar for the Soul!

This class reminded me that I can willingly, and with a calm heart and mind, adapt to changes in life.

— Lisa Suttschenko, Doula

HEAL MY BODY, MIND, & SPIRIT

Mattie has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the wisdom of the body. I learned so many great tools that I will continue to use as I heal my own body, mind and spirit.

She masterfully creates a safe, loving space for women to show up, connect and learn. It was an honor to be a part of this program.

— Cherstin Polston, Nutrition Coach and Yoga Instructor

FIND YOUR STRENGTHS

I learned a lot in Mattie’s Body Wisdom Workshop – from body alignment, the chakra system, right brain/left brain, and more.

What really stuck with me that I still use to this day is the EFT tapping. I use tapping for anxiety, pain relief from Fibromyalgia, and to deal with the stress of past emotional traumas. It has been really beneficial.

Mattie is a great teacher. She helps you find your strengths, as well as how to find for yourself what you need to work on – she doesn’t just tell you!

I totally recommend Body Wisdom. Have fun, learn a lot, and use what you learn!

— Stephanie Bayless, Occupational Therapist